Citrus fruits are evergreen trees. Greek mythology states that citrus fruits were the wedding gift that Gaea offered to the father of Gods, Zeus when he married Hera. The divine gift that was kept in the gardens of the Hesperides, far from the mortals, was cultivated in the plain of Chania. The Hesperides, nymphs of ancient Greek mythology who were daughters of the Night and the Ocean, guarded this land. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden an immortal, never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon as an additional safeguard to watch over the “golden apples”. Hercules managed to steal these “apples”, after killing Ladon and then giving them to Eurystheus, who offered them to the goddess Athena. Some believed that ambrosia was the product of the golden trees of the Hesperides garden. A beautiful eagle accompanied by white doves carried them to Olympus to feed the gods.
Citrus fruits include oranges, lemons, tangerines, bitter oranges, citrus, pomelos and bergamots. Their earliest roots come from Asia, mainly from India, China and Africa. The Mediterranean climate was ideal for them to thrive, so they travelled ashore in Europe and later, when the great food exchange took place they travelled to America.
Citrus fruits, symbols of richness and wealth, are sometimes sweet and others sweet and sour, offering juices rich in vitamins while their flesh and peel, their flowers and leaves are used in perfumery and pastry making. They give aromatic marinades, sweeten roasted meat but they are a common home remedy for the cold flu.
They have many varieties in colour and taste. Sour lemons, bitter, sweet and blood oranges, that glow in lush orchards like rich ornaments which offer the most fragrant and juicy fruits.